JAMBO Kwanza Limited, a company specialising in clearing and forwarding services, has faced another setback in its legal challenge against the election of leaders of the Tanzania Freight Forwarders Association (TAFFA), including President Edward Urio.
The High Court in Dar es Salaam has dismissed with costs Jambo Kwanza Limited's application for review, which aimed to contest the earlier decision to strike out its plaint.
The court's decision, dated March 22, 2024, had been based on the grounds that the plaint lacked a necessary board resolution.
In its application, Jambo Kwanza Limited sought to overturn the decision that had struck out its plaint due to the absence of a board resolution from the applicant company.
The court had earlier upheld objections raised by Mr Urio, the Registered Trustees of TAFFA and the TAFFA Election Committee.
During the hearing, the applicant was represented by advocates Ferdinand Makore and Ereneus Swai, while the respondents were represented by advocates Anindumi Semu and Albert Lema.
The applicant contended that the court had erred by striking out the plaint on the grounds of failing to include a board resolution.
However, Judge David Ngunyale ruled that this was not an apparent error on the face of the record. The judge noted that the relevant paragraph in the plaint did not clearly address the alleged board resolution.
Judge Ngunyale stated, "The applicant should consider filing an appeal or re-filing the plaint with the appropriate board resolution. The court finds that there was no overlooked error warranting review as alleged."
The judge further explained that the error the applicant attempted to establish did not meet the criteria for review, as it should have been an obvious error rather than one requiring a prolonged process to establish.
Additionally, the applicant argued that the court ignored the standing legal position regarding the necessity of a board or company resolution, claiming that such resolutions are no longer legally required.
However, the judge countered that the complaint was inconsistent with established case law, including the case of Transport Equipment Ltd.
"I concur with the respondent that a decision reached erroneously in law cannot be corrected through review. The applicant's dissatisfaction with the March 22, 2024 ruling is evident, but opting for review instead of appeal was not appropriate," the judge said.
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This marks the third time Jambo Kwanza Limited has lost in court over the dispute regarding the TAFFA election. The first case was dismissed at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate's Court in Dar es Salaam for being incompetent.
The second case, filed at the High Court in Dar es Salaam, was also dismissed on similar grounds, with the court agreeing that the suit was incompetent due to the lack of a board resolution.
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Jambo Kwanza Limited's legal action has challenged the fairness of the entire election process, including the supervision and declaration of results that named Mr Urio as the winner of the TAFFA presidential position.
The company sought declaratory orders to annul the election process as void from the start.
